Case Closed

"That's right, he was naked!" The watchman said, glancing at the corpse again. "The murderer must have been a monster that eats human hearts and livers, otherwise how could he have done that!"

Tell me in detail how you bumped into that person!

"I've said it several times before, it was around 5:45 AM when I ran into them..."

Fang Yu recounted the entire incident in detail before letting the night watchman leave.

He then ordered, "Daqing, take the body to Sun Laizi's house. Also, call all of Sun Laizi's gang over here."

"Ah! Carry him to his house? Not to the county government office?" Daqing asked in surprise.

Fang Yu immediately replied, "Why go to the county government? This is a matter for us in the martial world. Why bother the prefectural government? Do you think Master Ning has too much free time?"

"Understood! Understood!" Daqing suddenly realized, and quickly told people to carry the body and head towards Sun Laizi's house.

If an ordinary citizen dies, the government office will conduct a normal investigation. However, if a city fox like Sun Lezi dies, it will usually be regarded as a vendetta and left to the organization to resolve, and the government office will basically ignore it.

Sun Laizi was nominally Xu Ning's man, so the case naturally fell into Xu Ning's hands. Xu Ning obviously didn't have time to care about Sun Laizi's life or death, so he handed the matter over to Fang Yu.

Fang Yu's method was simple: just investigate while he was at it. If he could find out, great; if not, no problem. He would just fabricate a feud between gangsters, find a wanted criminal on the wanted list, pin the case on them, and hand it over to the authorities. That would close the case.

Soon, the group arrived at Sun Laizi's house, placed the body in the main room, and then walked outside, leaving Sun Laizi's old mother wailing and crying for her mother.

"Master Fang, everyone's here!"

Zhou Daqing was quite capable. Fang Yu had only been sitting against the wall in the alley outside Sun Laizi's house for a short while when Zhou Daqing summoned several of Sun Laizi's hangers-on.

Fang Yu glanced at the group and asked, "Tell me, when was the last time you saw Sun Laizi?"

"Just yesterday!"

"It was around noon yesterday, shortly after you greeted us, Brother Fang, that we dispersed!"

"Yes, yes, Sun Laizi said his stomach hurt and he needed to poop, and then he never came back!"

"..."

The group chatted amongst themselves, and in the end, they met Sun Laizi around the same time Fang Yu had encountered them the day before.

Fang Yu thought for a moment, then continued, "Think carefully again. Has Sun Laizi been behaving strangely lately? Also, has he offended anyone?"

"No, there's nothing unusual lately!"

"If we're talking about who I've offended, it seems like it's you, Master Fang!"

"I remember now. Ever since you invited us to take a look, Master Fang, Sun Laizi has been obsessed with that Exquisite Jade. Could it be that he went to the Golden Branch Pavilion to cause trouble and got killed?"

"I think it's quite possible. These past few days, Sun Laizi's eyes have been green with envy whenever he sees women on the street. He must have been really pent up, which is why he went to cause trouble and got beaten to death!"

"..."

Fang Yu listened quietly to their conversation, then asked a few more questions before dismissing them.

Zhou Daqing was standing nearby, chimed in, "Master Fang, is it possible that Sun Laizi was really killed by the Golden Branch Pavilion? Should we still investigate?"

"Are you stupid?" Fang Yu immediately scolded, "If he really offended Golden Branch Pavilion, how could the watchman have caught him dumping the body? Besides, the wounds were clearly inflicted on him after he was killed with a sharp weapon, just to cover up the wounds. If the people at the Golden Branch Pavilion could do such shoddy work, they would have gone out of business long ago."

Zhou Daqing immediately nodded repeatedly and said, "Master Fang is right. If he really went to the Golden Branch Pavilion to cause trouble, it should have been all over by now."

"Alright, let each of you brothers contribute ten copper coins to buy a simple coffin for Sun Laizi's burial!" Fang Yu said, taking out a tael of silver from his pocket and handing it to Zhou Daqing, saying, "This two taels of silver is on me!"

"Master Fang is truly loyal!" Zhou Daqing quickly took the document and then asked, "So, are we not going to investigate the murderer?"

"What's the point of investigating!" Fang Yu immediately retorted, "Go to the criminal investigation department and get all the recent arrest warrants. Let's see who's more suitable to be the murderer!"

"Okay!" Zhou Daqing nodded immediately.

Fang Yu had no interest in investigating who killed Sun Laizi. Since Xu Ning only wanted a result, he would give him one and let the matter drop.

The group of hooligans pooled their money, gave it to Sun Laizi's mother, and then dispersed. Fang Yu, along with Zhou Daqing and the others, went to the west courtyard of the government office.

Soon, Zhou Daqing came out of the bedroom carrying a large stack of arrest warrants, saying, "These are all from the last three years!"

Fang Yu casually picked up a document and opened it. He saw a small portrait of the wanted criminal drawn on it, along with detailed physical characteristics. Below that were the crimes committed and the amount of the reward.

He glanced at them, picked up the others and looked them over one by one, quickly reading through all hundred-plus fishing permits, then pulled one out.

[Name: Chu Qiantu]

[Bandit nickname: Mountain-Splitting Sha]

[Age: Middle-aged]

[Martial Arts: Sixth-Rank Strongman (Peak)]

[Reward: 3,000 taels of silver]

[Physical characteristics: burly build, dark complexion, high cheekbones, thick hair and beard, prefers black clothing, and has a booming, harsh voice.]

[Crimes Committed: Formerly the leader of White Wolf Mountain, a tyrannical and bloodthirsty bandit who led his gang to rob and plunder the people, abduct women, and massacre civilians. After the government's crackdown and the destruction of White Wolf Mountain, I escaped and became a roving criminal, traveling north, robbing and killing constables and inspectors along the way, openly defying the government, showing no regard for the law, and exhausted from my evil deeds.]

"This is it!"

Fang Yu pulled out the wanted poster and decided to pin the blame for Sun Laizi's case on this person.

As a wanted criminal with a long criminal record and whose whereabouts were marked as heading north, it would be plausible to say that he killed Sun Laizi when he passed through Bei'an City.

At dusk, Fang Yu met Xu Ning and immediately explained the results of his investigation to him in detail:

"Master Ning, the murderer of Sun Laizi has been identified. It is the wanted criminal Chu Qiantu. I have found several witnesses who saw Chu Qiantu Sun Laizi, rip out his heart and liver, and then dump the body to cause trouble, intending to provoke the government."

"Very good, I'll report it immediately and close this case." Xu Ning nodded in satisfaction, then lowered his voice and asked, "Can this evidence be verified?"

"Don't worry, Master Ning, these witnesses are all our own brothers!" Fang Yu immediately assured him.

"Good, good, good!" Xu Ning said three times, patted Fang Yu on the shoulder, and then asked, "How's the investigation of those three people going?"

Fang Yu shook his head and said, "No suspicious persons were found!"

Xu Ning said in a deep voice, "I think we can have these suspicious individuals. What do you think?"

Fang Yu stroked his chin and said, "These Hui Barbarian are not easy to find!"

"I believe you will find it!" Xu Ning said, patting Fang Yu on the shoulder before getting up and leaving.